Homecoming Student Scholar & Public Engagement Showcase
Persistent link for this community
The Homecoming Student Scholar & Public Engagement Showcase is an annual event celebrating the research, creative and outreach endeavors of members of the University community. The Showcase sponsors are: Office for Public Engagement; Office for Student Affairs; Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost; Office of the Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration; Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences; Office of Undergraduate Education; Office for Faculty and Academic Affairs; Office of the Vice President for Research; Office for Equity and Diversity; Office of Human Resources; The Graduate School; Council of Graduate Students; Graduate and Professional Student Association; and Minnesota Student Association.
This collection contains presentations made at the Homecoming Student Scholar & Public Engagement Showcase.
Browse
Browsing Homecoming Student Scholar & Public Engagement Showcase by Issue Date
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Predicting Limited Health Literacy in Probability and Convenience Samples of ED Patients(2009-10-07) Olives, T.; Patel, S.; Patel, R.; Hottinger, J.; Miner, J.Health literacy is the "capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” More than 90 million US adults possess limited health literacy, and are at risk for increased emergency department (ED) usage, prolonged hospitalizations, increased health care costs and medication noncompliance. Risk factors for limited health literacy include advanced age, lower educational background, lower socioeconomic status, and non-Caucasian ethnicity. Recent studies have demonstrated that up to 25% of urban ED patients possess limited health literacy skills. We sought to determine the prevalence of limited health literacy among patients in an urban ED and its association with sociodemographic variables. We also sought to assess differences in findings across probability (random) and convenience (non-random) samples, in order to estimate the importance of the logistically more difficult probability sampling technique.Item Sleipnir: A Versatile Extremely Low Duty-Cycle Sensor Network(2009-10-07) Gu, Yu; He, TianWireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a new information paradigm based on the collaboration of a large number of self-organized sensing nodes that can be used for applications such as assisted living, infrastructure protection and scientific exploration. Along with advantages such as low-cost and low-profile, sensor networks are severely resource constrained, especially in terms of energy supply due to its small-form-factor. However, many sensor network based applications require a lifetime that can span tens of years. In order to bridge the gap between limited energy supply and long-term operation requirement, we then have to build extremely low duty-cycle sensor networks where sensor nodes stay in a dormant state for most of the time. In this thesis research, we initiate the first systematic research in this frontier under a wide spectrum of design space, including static, dynamic and mobile networks.Item The PKC Inhibitor Gö 6976 Blocks C-Type Natriuretic Peptide Activation of Guanylyl Cyclase B(2009-10-07) Lou, XiaoyingThis study characterizes the effects of the widely used protein kinase C inhibitor, Gö 6976, on NPR-B guanylyl cyclase activity as a means to identify its inhibitory mechanisms.Item Gender Differences in Developing Romantic Relationships: Intimacy and Commitment(2009-10-07) Steele, Ryan D.Are there gender differences in the relation between adolescent romantic relationship intimacy and later romantic relationship functioning?Item Impulsivity for Intravenous Cocaine or Food Measured by a Go/No-go task in Adolescent and Adult Rats(2009-10-07) Navin, SeanItem Agricultural Biotechnology Companies and the Crops of the Poor(2009-10-07) Scott, Mary A.Critics claim that some of the world’s largest agricultural biotechnology companies are prolonging world hunger by making their innovations, for which they charge high technology fees and establish exclusive intellectual property rights, inaccessible to the poor. The significant implication in such assertions is that these firms are not concerned with the public good. What are ag-biotech companies doing that could improve agriculture for poor farmers around the world? What kinds of projects are they investing in, how are they organized, and with whom are they partnering? What, specifically, do the companies contribute? What are the results? Do these projects produce technology that is both helpful and accessible to the poor?Item Modeling the Response of Arctic Vegetation to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change(2009-10-07) Cassidy, EmilyAn increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is contributing to planetary warming that is strongest over high latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and strong warming have led to changes in vegetation distribution, permafrost depth, and snow cover, which significantly affect the interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and the climate through biophysical and biogeochemical processes. With a continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions and additional warming in the high latitudes, uncertainty exists as to how the Arctic biosphere will respond in the coming decades and whether Arctic ecosystems will remain a carbon sink or instead become a source of carbon to the atmosphere. Elevated carbon dioxide and climate change can affect vegetation growth through changing the assimilation of carbon dioxide and the respiration of carbon from the vegetation and soil. Using a dynamic global vegetation model (IBIS), potential changes in both the biophysical and biogeochemical processes of Arctic vegetation were analyzed to determine how future climate change and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide may alter their functioning and ability to store carbon.Item Lead from Spent Ammunition: A Source of Poisoning in Bald Eagles(2009-10-07) Cruz, Luis; Redig, Patrick T.; Smith, Donald R.A 12-year (1996-2008) retrospective study of lead poisoning in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was conducted to test the hypothesis that spent lead from ammunition, present in the carcasses and gutpiles of white-tailed deer, represents an important source of lead exposure. Sample size consisted of n=300 lead poisoning cases from 1,150 eagles admitted.Item Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences: Case Study Analysis of Minnesota, North Carolina and Kansas(2009-10-07) Hanzlik, MatthewThe life sciences industry is a source of innovations in health, agriculture, and industrial technology. New life sciences businesses create high paying jobs, contribute to local economies, and develop innovations that can benefit society. The life sciences industry encompasses multiple, research-intensive industries. Due to the research-intensive aspects of the life sciences businesses, creating a new life science business is a difficult process. State governments interested in facilitating growth of their life science industry have developed strategies to make starting a life science business easier. Previous research has identified multiple factors that are required to start a research-intensive business. This research will apply those factors in a case-study analysis of Minnesota, North Carolina and Kansas, three states with life sciences industries at various stages of development. The research will explore specific state-level policies in each of these states aimed at facilitating entrepreneurship in the life science industry, highlighting the policy development process and measureable outcomes.Item Continuous Measures of Children's Speech Production: Visual Analog Scale and Equal Appearing Interval Scale Measures of Fricative Goodness(2009-10-07) Urberg-Carlson, Kari Elizabeth; Munson, Benjamin; Kaiser, Eden A.Children acquire speech sounds gradually, but the primary tool used to assess speech development, phonetic transcription, is by definition categorical. This presentation is part of a larger project, one of the goals of which is to develop novel perceptual methods for assessing children's speech production that capture continuity in speech-sound development.Item Wilderness Visitor Experience Over Time: Change, Constraints, & Impacts(2009-10-07) Schroeder, Sierra L.; Schneider, Ingrid E.Various constraints to recreation and leisure are well documented. Constraints are “factors that limit people’s participation in leisure activities, people’s use of leisure services, or people’s enjoyment of current activities” (Jackson & Scott, 1999, p. 301). Structural constraints are oft-cited in outdoor recreation and include time and distance. Schneider (2007) suggested that wilderness visitors likely face similar constraints as general recreationists, yet such research is limited to a single empirical study (Green et al., 2007). As such, the purpose of this study was to understand changes such as constraints impacting recreational wilderness visitors, and to describe the impact of these constraints among visitors to a U.S. wilderness area: the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Specially: What are the structural constraints encountered by BWCAW visitors? If and how are wilderness experiences influenced by these constraints?Item Multicompartment Micelles from Miktoarm Star Block Terpolymers(2009-10-07) Liu, Chun; Lodge, Timothy P.; Hillmyer, Marc A.Item Responding to Trauma: Bridging Family Mental Health and Medicine(2009-10-07) Stone, Katie A.Item The Perception of Vietnamese-American Women Towards Cervical Cancer and Prevention Methods(2009-10-07) Nguyen-Tran, Thuy DuongThe purpose of this project was to learn about the perceptions Vietnamese-American women have towards cervical cancer and prevention methods. In addition, this project sought to better understand barriers Vietnamese-American women may have in receiving preventative care, such as Pap tests, and ways to increase awareness and usage of preventative medicine.Item A Thousand Dollars and Home Again?: Romanian Women’s Influence on the Immigrant Experience in South St. Paul, Minnesota, 1900 - 1925(2009-10-07) Albu, Vicki YoungCurrent scholarship generally portrays Romanian immigrant women as passive followers of their male counterparts. But in reality, Romanian women were active participants in the immigration experience. By analyzing documents that record information about Romanian immigrant women, we may begin to comprehend how women influenced family decisions, including whether to emigrate from Romania, how the families adjusted to their new lives, and whether to remain in the United States. Romanian women’s influence on emigration and their eventual presence in America contributed to the permanency of Romanian culture and traditions in the United States.Item Adaptation: Culturally Sensitive Housing for Mexicans and Universal Design(2009-10-07) Karnes, CarolThe Mexican population in Minneapolis has a unique cultural identity. They struggle with negative influences: economic inequality, language barriers, discrimination, and the reality of being a displaced people. They have strong cultural links. Adapting to life in the United States can be challenging for these people. Creating an affordable housing solution that gives them pride, helps them integrate, and provides them the opportunity to express their cultural identity is important. Being cognizant of the unique needs of culturally sensitive populations and implementing universal design solutions into the design of a single family residence was the primary outcome of this project.Item Homelessness and End of Life Care: A Qualitative Analysis of the Living Wills of Underprivileged Individuals(2009-10-07) Grengs, LeahThe major objective of this study is to test an advance directive (AD) intervention in the homeless population of Minneapolis and St. Paul. This project will address the end of life (EOL) concerns of homeless people and provide the basis to test the needs of others who are separated from their loved ones and/or experience episodic healthcare. Estimates of the number of homeless people in the United States range up to several million. In the Twin Cities metro area over 4,000 youth and adults are in temporary housing programs and over 600 are unsheltered. “Homeless” is defined as having no regular place to live (i.e. having to stay in a shelter, a hotel paid for with a voucher, a friend’s house, an abandoned building or outdoors). Among disadvantaged populations, homeless individuals experience the greatest risk of death, barriers to healthcare and lack of resources and close relationships deemed necessary for proper EOL care. Homeless individuals are admitted to the emergency room and hospitalized at almost four times the rate of the general population of the United States. Although homeless individuals experience such high rates of mortality and hospitalization, their attitudes, values and desires regarding EOL care had yet to be studied. Their concerns have generally been ignored, since most EOL care has focused on the concerns of the white middle class. In general, homeless people have been found to be very willing to describe their preferences and concerns and eager to have a voice in what the future may bring in the event of serious illness or death. Homeless people have been found to have very unique concerns regarding healthcare and EOL care, since they frequently witness sudden and violent death on the streets.Item Visualization of Pulsating Low-Speed Flows from a Basic Annular Jet(2009-10-07) Padron, SantiagoFlow in the initial region of a pulsating low-speed annular water jet issuing into a quiescent water reservoir was visualized by means of a dye. The objective of this study was to characterize the different flow regimes as a function of pulse frequency. The blocking ratio was fixed at 0.7. The Reynolds number was varied from 59 to 155 and the Strouhalnumber from 0.133 to 1.90. For the experimental conditions considered, two different flow regimes were observed.Item Regulation of Human HRAS1 Minisatellite Stability During Stationary Phase(2009-10-07) Brosnan, LauraMinisatellites are repetitive tracts of DNA with repeat units ranging from 16-100 base pairs in length. They are stable during mitosis but display changes in repeat number and order after meiosis. Rare alleles of minisatellite tracts thought to arise from repeat instability are associated with human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and epilepsy. The stability of minisatellites in non-proliferating stationary phase cells is not well understood. Previous work has shown that the zinc transporter ZRT1, the checkpoint gene RAD53, the DNA repair gene RAD27, the endocytosis gene END3, and the protein kinase PKC1 regulate the stability of minisatellites in S. cerevisiae during stationary phase. We inserted the human minisatellite associated with HRAS1 into the ADE2 gene to determine how its stability is regulated during stationary phase. Loss of ZRT1, RAD27, or RAD53 destabilized the minisatellite; loss of PKC1 or END3 had no effect. This work contributes significantly to our understanding of repeat stability and genome stability during stationary phase; this has important implications for human genome stability, since most human somatic cells are non-proliferating.Item Minnesota Agri-tourism: Status and Interest(2009-10-07) Schuweiler, Andrea; Gustafson, KentAgri-tourism is defined as a set of activities that occurs when people link travel with the products, services, and experiences of agriculture. Examples of agri-tourism include, but are not limited to, farm stays, hay rides, wine trails, farm tours, and farm festivals. Agri-tourism can increase farm revenue, lead to a more diversified business, and stimulate local economies. In 2009, the University of Minnesota Tourism Center, in partnership with Renewing the Countryside, the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Minnesota Grown program of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture conducted a survey of Minnesota farms to learn about agri-tourism businesses, activities, and opportunities. The information gained from the survey is designed to help the University of Minnesota Tourism Center and its partner organizations provide better educational and marketing opportunities for agri-tourism in Minnesota.